Another Marauder
by gryffindanni
Summary: Sequel to You're Welcome, Potter. Series of one-shots chronicling a friendship between Severus Snape and James Potter. Pairings to be decided at a much later date. Rated T overall for language and mentions of abuse, but ratings for certain chapters may go up, which will be stated at the beginning of the chapter. No slash.


Hello hello! This is a sequel to my earlier HP story, You're Welcome, Potter. If you haven't read that yet, I very much suggest it—otherwise you're going to be very confused, and I don't want that. :) Please enjoy, and leave a review!

-x-x-x-

It is Monday, breakfast time, and Severus Snape is occupying his usual lonely seat at the end of the Slytherin table, poking holes in a pancake and brooding. Yesterday had been a very weird day.

He'd come across James Potter being assaulted in a corridor by their now-former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor O'Hare, and for some inexplicable reason had actually decided to help. The result had been two hours with the messy-haired Gryffindor, but with no insults, no cursing, no cruelty. It had been a refreshing change.

Of course, Severus knows it won't last, and that's what has him so upset. Now that he knows Potter has a heart and can be kind to him if he wants to, the bullying is going to hurt even worse than it used to. He really hates being mistreated; doesn't he get enough of that at home?

What's so wrong with him, anyway, that everyone he comes in contact with wants nothing more than to hurt him?

Speak of the devil—Potter enters the Great Hall, along with his usual escort; Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew. He's wearing his usual cocky grin, joking animatedly with his friends, and to any bystander he'd look his normal self. Looking closely, however, Severus can see his shoulders scrunched in, his eyes dark-circled.

He didn't sleep, then. Merlin, he must've been even more scared than Severus thought.

Potter catches his eye just then, and the grin morphs into something warmer and more sincere; he raises a hand and waves.

Severus feels his jaw drop a little bit. Is Potter—James Potter, Gryffindor golden boy, the bane of his existence—waving at him?

It seems so. Potter's forehead crinkles a little when Severus does not respond, and he bites his lip. Severus quickly gives him a short nod and ducks his head, pretending to continue with his breakfast but keeping one eye on him.

Black has stopped now, and is looking between Potter and Severus with a befuddled expression.

"…waving at Snivellus?" Severus clearly hears him yelp; there is nothing subtle about Black in the slightest. Severus rolls his eyes and drums his fingers on the table, waiting for Potter to laugh, or perform some other action to nullify his greeting.

But, no. Potter scowls, and Severus distinctly sees his lips form the words, "Shut up, Sirius."

Effectively frozen, Severus stares outright at Potter as the boy storms to the Gryffindor table and slumps into a seat.

What in Merlin's name is going on?

Severus keeps a covert eye on Potter for the rest of the meal, and when Potter catches his eye again fifteen minutes later, when Black is distracted trying to slip ice down the back of Marlene McKinnon's shirt, Severus sends back a hesitant wave.

Potter beams.

-x-

Potions is the first class of the day, and as always Severus is the first one in the classroom. He settles down at a desk at the back of the room and pulls out his cauldron, book, and supplies, quietly setting himself up so he'll be ready by the time Professor Slughorn—or rather, Lily—shows up. Just as he's finished, the Gryffindors file in. Severus meets Lily's green gaze when she looks up from fiddling with her bag straps, and she smiles at him. Severus doesn't respond with his own, though, because Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew have just entered, and Potter isn't with them.

If he were braver, he'd ask Black where his cohort was. But after yesterday, he's all Gryffindored out, and he doesn't want to give the boy any incentive to attack him. So instead, he avoids Black's gaze with everything in him, even when Black leans half-over his desk and kicks him hard in the ankle.

"What did you do to James?" Black hisses.

Now Severus looks up, narrowing his eyes. Trust Potter to stretch the story somehow. "I didn't touch your precious Potter, Black. Clear off, before your stupidity rubs off on my potion."

Black looks almost feral, teeth bared, eyes glinting. "Look, I don't know what happened yesterday—"

"He didn't tell you?" Severus interrupts, surprised. Surely he would have told his closest friends... he needed someone to fuss over him, didn't he?

"He was in bed half the day yesterday, he wouldn't even talk to any of us," Sirius mutters, obviously put-out by this. "But you had something to do with it, I know—he wouldn't just wave at you like that!"

Severus rolls his eyes. Gryffindors!

"Ah, yes," he drawls. "Of course, I must have done something to him. Probably awful, considering he smiled and waved. You ought to look at a career as an Auror, Black, sharp wit like you."

Black's lip curls; he leans closer, so that Severus can feel his breath hot on his face, but before he can say anything, Professor Slughorn clears his throat from the front of the classroom.

"Class, you'll be partnering up to brew a Forgetfulness Potion today—"

Many of the students whisper excitedly to each other at the prospect of group work, and Lily turns in her seat to smile at Severus. Severus grins back, but the smile slides off his face as Slughorn raises his voice to talk over the chatter.

"I will be choosing your partners—hush, all of you!" Slughorn sighs and begins to pair everyone up, placing Lily with Marlene McKinnon. Lily grimaces and makes a face, and Severus sighs.

When Slughorn reaches Severus, there is no one left to pair him with. Slughorn frowns a bit. "Mr. Snape, I suppose you can work—"

At that moment, the classroom door swings open, and Potter darts in, panting. "S-sorry I'm late, Professor, I had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore!"

"Ah, Potter, there you are! Wonderful, you can pair with Mr. Snape."

Oh, no. No, no, no. Paired with Potter in Potions? The gods really are against him. What's he done to deserve this? Black's going to kill him, if Potter doesn't blow up the potion and do it first. Severus slams his head onto the desk as Potter, grinning inexplicably, seats himself across from Severus, slinging his bag from his shoulder.

"Hey, Severus!" he exclaims, pulling out his book and ingredients and dumping them onto the table.

"Where were you?" Severus demands, raising his head with the air of a man resigned to torture. "You left in plenty of time to get to class." _Plenty of time to_ not _get paired with me_.

"Oh." Potter looks down and fiddles with his silver knife, sliding his thumb up and down the width of the blade. "Professor Dumbledore wrote to my parents about… you know. They came to see for themselves I was all right. Mum wouldn't stop fussing."

"Ah." Severus isn't really sure what to say about that. "Well, um—"

"What are we brewing?" Potter asks, blessedly steering the conversation into the much safer waters of Potions. Severus shoves his book across the table.

"Forgetfulness Potion," he says. Potter peers interestedly at the page.

"What d'you want me to do?" he asks, as his gaze trails down the ingredients list. Severus opens his mouth, then shuts it again. He'd been fully prepared for Potter to make him brew the potion on his own. He waits a second for Potter to finish the joke, but that doesn't happen so Severus clears his throat and pulls his book back.

"You, um, can start with the valerian root," Severus says finally. Potter dives into the supplies, and Severus chews on his lip for a moment before he starts on the next step himself.

What's going on?

-x-

Potter, it turns out, isn't half-bad at brewing. They work rather well together, actually, and receive an O for the day's work. Pleased, Severus packs up his supplies with a smirk on his face and, nodding to his partner, quickly exits the classroom.

Outside, he is abruptly sent spilling to the ground, elbow and chin hitting the stone floor hard, teeth rattling in his head. A cruel chuckle above him lets him know just who was responsible for this little fall, and when he rolls over it's to see Black's wand in his face. Before he can do anything but stiffen in anticipation, there is a flash of black from the doorway, and a next moment a messy-haired someone is standing over him, arms spread wide.

"Let him be, Sirius!"

Severus closes his eyes tight, and opens them again, but Potter is still there defending him. Severus's head throbs. _What the hell_..?

Black's jaw drops comically. "But, James—"

"I mean it!" Potter snaps. "Just leave him alone."

Black looks like he wants to argue, but Lupin grabs him by the arms and marches him down the corridor, a very determined look on his face. Potter turns around, and Severus is caught suddenly breathless at the anger on his face.

Potter sticks out a hand, and Severus takes it without a thought, allowing himself to be hauled to his feet.

"You okay?" Potter asks gruffly. Severus coughs and straightens his robes compulsively.

"Yeah, fine."

"Okay," says Potter, and steps away, jamming his hands in his pockets. "I'll… I'll talk to him, all right?"

"It doesn't matter, Potter—"

"Yeah, it does," snaps Potter, suddenly fierce. "I'll see you."

And he whirls and marches after his friends, leaving Severus gaping behind him.

-x-

Whatever Potter says to Black works; for the next few days, the worst the boy does is shoot him glares across classrooms and the Great Hall. It's wonderful, not having to look over his shoulder, not having to keep his wand in hand, not having a litany of defensive spells on his tongue at all times. And Potter keeps smiling across the room, and that... that feels nice too.

It is Friday after dinner, and Severus is on his way up to the library, book bag slung over one shoulder. Professor Dumbledore has been teaching Defense until he can find a replacement for Professor O'Hare—who, Severus had discovered, would be spending several years in Azkaban thanks to his assault—and the homework he sets is quite complicated.

"Where are you off to, Snivellus?"

Severus whirls, but days of not having to expect an attack has taken a toll on his reflexes. Before he can raise his wand, he's been hit hard across the face; his wand is knocked from his hand, and Sirius Black backs him against the wall.

"Listen here," hisses Black, nose-to-nose with Severus, jamming his wand-tip into Severus's chest, "I know you're up to something, trying to get into James's good books. He's told me to leave you be, but if he expects me to sit back and watch you destroy him, he's sadly mistaken."

Severus struggles desperately against Black's grip, but Black is much bigger, much taller, and much more well-fed, and Severus knows it's no use. He stills, chest heaving, and curls his lip. "I'm not up to anything. I'm not out to hurt him—"

Black slams Severus's head against the wall so hard Severus nearly buckles. Before he can get his bearings, Black is dragging him down the corridor into the nearest classroom. Severus is too dizzy to really resist, but when he sees Black wrench open the door to a storage cabinet that is just small enough to fit him, maybe, if he curls up and ducks his head, he starts to shake and struggle.

Black shoves him over, and Severus starts clawing at the walls and anything else he can reach, eyes prickling with tears, chest heaving in panic. He throws back his head to scream for help, but Black's foot connects with his ribs and all that comes out is a choked gasp of pain. He is lifted from the floor and shoved into the cabinet, head banging into the walls, and lets out a whimper of despair.

"Please!" he cries, desperately—every time his head slams into something, his father's angry face flashes before his eyes, and that's doing nothing to help the fear—and something flickers in Black's eyes for a moment. But it's not enough; Black slams the cupboard door shut, and Severus hears it lock.

He bangs, and claws his hands raw on the door, and screams himself hoarse, but no one comes for him and he can't get the cupboard open. After hours of silence, with Black never returning, Severus succumbs to exhaustion.

-x-

Severus spends a long, long time in the cupboard, in a state of what feels like limbo, head pounding where it hit the walls, growing thirstier every moment, cramped and aching and so, so scared. How long before anyone notices he's gone? And even after that, will they be able to find him? Maybe, maybe Black can be bullied into telling a teacher what he's done, but will it be in time? Severus can only survive so long without water. Every now and then he bangs and yells for help, growing weaker and more hoarse every time, but no one ever hears him, and no one ever comes. At some point, he wets himself. He's there long enough for it to dry, but the stench lingers. His stomach begins to clench and cramp with hunger pains.

Severus is half asleep when the door is finally yanked open, and he jumps, crying out in surprise. He squints against the light that's suddenly blinding him, raising his hands to shield his face—just in case.

"Hey, Severus."

The voice is not one he expected to hear, but the person it belongs to is, if Severus is being honest with himself, the only one he'd desperately hoped would find him. Something whimpery and choking comes out of his mouth, and he swallows hard, throat suddenly tight. "James."

For James it is, standing before him, face hard with anger, eyes all but shooting sparks. Someone's angry because he, Severus, is hurt, and Severus isn't quite sure what to do with the feeling that accompanies this revelation. "You need help, or can you get out of there yourself?"

"I can do it," Severus croaks, scooting himself slowly forward, mindful of his still-tender skull. He reaches the doorway, unused muscles screaming in protest, and topples out; James catches him quickly and lowers him to the ground, crouching next to Severus as he stretches out with a groan. Severus's body cracks and pops in relief, and he leans back against the wall, letting his head fall back, licking his parched lips, shutting his eyes against the invasive light and the almost-frightening bigness of the room he's in now.

"What day is it?" he manages, flexing his fingers and wincing at their rawness.

"Sunday night," James says back, voice taut. "I've been looking for you since Saturday, but I didn't think to ask Sirius until now—Merlin, Severus, I'm sorry..."

"'S'all right," Severus murmurs. He is too exhausted to even consider being angry.

"C'mon, you need the hospital wing," James says decisively, gripping Severus's arm. Severus cracks an eye open and attempts a scowl.

"How about I jus' stay here?"

"No, I think it'd be better if you come with me," says James, falsely pleasant, definitely worried. Severus absently guesses that he must not be acting like himself, since James is very pale and drawn, and his hands shake as he helps Severus to his feet, but he's so dizzy and weak that he can't do much about that. James slings Severus's arm over his shoulder and half-hauls him to the door.

They reach the hospital wing in fifteen minutes, and James helps Severus into the nearest bed before rushing off to find Madam Pomfrey. Severus hears James banging on the office door, and absently registers that his voice sounds very strained and frightened. Part of him wishes he could get out of bed and reassure James that he's really all right, but his head hurts just thinking about that, and the rest of him is wondering how long he's going to let this Gryffindor side of him stay around.

Not to mention, he's also wondering how long he's going to let this Gryffindor stay around.

James comes back, leading Madam Pomfrey by the hand.

"...in that cupboard since Friday night and he called me James, not 'Potter' or 'you idiot,' and he didn't yell at me once while I helped him up here, I think there's really something wrong—"

"Calm down, Mr. Potter, he'll be all right," says Madam Pomfrey, waving her wand over Severus and then pursing her lips and rushing off without another word.

"I did not call you James," Severus mutters, closing his eyes in exhaustion, but not before he sees a triumphant smirk cross James's face.

"Oh, yes you did!" he exclaims. "I opened the door and that's the only thing you said."

"You're an idiot," Severus croaks, but he smiles tiredly. "Go on, out of here. 'M fine."

"You're sure?"

Severus peels his eyes open and fixes James with the angriest glare he can muster. James stifles a giggle.

"James," Severus says coolly, "I have no intention of dying tonight. You may go, I assure you."

James sighs and nods. "I'll come see you later, then."

Severus returns the nod and shuts his eyes again. The idea of James returning is actually one he enjoys. He hears James's footsteps fade away, but then they pause.

"You called me James again."

"Potter! I called you Potter!"

-x-

A welcome glass of ice water, a cleaning spell, a change of clothes, several potions, a bowl of chicken soup, a lot of fussing, and a nap later, Severus is already sick of the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey told him he could leave in the morning, but because of the concussion Black had caused, which she hadn't been able to treat right away, she wanted to keep him overnight. "Just to be safe, Mr. Snape." He is staring grumpily at the ceiling, wishing James would come back like he said, and thinking that James probably won't return, and wishing desperately that that didn't bother him—curse Godric Gryffindor himself, Severus has gone soft—when he hears footsteps rushing up the hall toward the infirmary. The door bursts open, and Severus flinches instinctively before shutting his eyes; until he knows who the visitor is, he doesn't want them to see him awake.

"Look at him!" The voice is James's, and it is high-pitched and furious. "Look at him, Sirius, look what you've done—he was half-dead when I got him out of that cupboard, he could barely stand—Madam Pomfrey says he could've died! You could have killed him!"

"I was trying to protect—"

"No!" James yells. "No, Sirius, you weren't! You were jealous and stupid and you didn't listen to a word I said—you have no idea what he did for me!"

Severus's stomach clenches. So help him, if Black makes James tell him what O'Hare tried to do, he's going to leap right out of this bed and strangle the boy.

"Well maybe if you had told me what happened—"

"NO!"

Abandoning his feigned sleep at this new threat, Severus sits bolt upright and fixes Black with a gut-withering scowl. "Don't you dare! He doesn't owe you a thing, you've got no right to ask—"

"It's okay, Severus," James interrupts, suddenly very white and sick-looking. Severus shakes his head hard, but James clears his throat and swallows.

"Professor O'Hare didn't leave because of an emergency. He... Professor Dumbledore fired him because he... he..."

James sucks in a ragged breath and glances over at Severus, pleading. It's the kind of look Severus would have scorned had he been given it the day he saved James, but now Severus can't refuse a look like that.

"O'Hare had him pinned in a corridor and was sexually assaulting him," Severus supplies, in the same toneless voice he had used to tell Professor McGonagall.

Black whitens.

"Y-you're joking," he stammers, eyes wide in disbelief. "James..?"

Potter bites his lip and closes his eyes. "He's telling the truth. Severus stopped him. If he hadn't—" Potter takes a sudden, raspy breath. "He saved me, Sirius."

"I—I didn't—"

"I know you didn't. I didn't want you to know."

Black looks as though he has lost the ability to speak entirely. He looks between Potter and Severus, still deathly white, a mixture of shame and horror plain on his face. "James, I—"

"Let's just go," James snaps, turning away, a bit of wetness shining in his eyes. "Severus needs to rest." He looks over at Severus and smiles, very weakly, raising his hand in a wave. "Glad you're okay. I'll see you later."

He strides out of the infirmary, and with a last glance over his shoulder at Severus, Black trails out behind him. Severus stares quietly at the door for a long while before laying back down and curling up on his side. He had never expected Potter to care so much about his well-being, but he can't deny it's a warm kind of feeling.

-x-

The next morning, Severus resumes his lonely seat at the edge of the Slytherin table. For half the meal, he eats unbothered, but then Sirius Black slides into the bench in front of him.

"Hey, Severus…"

Severus tenses, gripping his fork tightly in his fist, and eyes Black warily. "What do you want?"

"To say I'm sorry."

Severus stays silent. This is some kind of trick, it has to be. Sirius bites his lip, annoyed and embarrassed and awkward all at once.

"James didn't put me up to this, by the way. I really am sorry. I shouldn't have locked you in there."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Severus says coldly. "But apology accepted." He returns to his meal, hoping Black will take the hint and leave him in peace. When he looks up again, Black is gone.

-x-

No sooner has Severus arrived in Potions class than Potter and his little gang burst in the door behind him, laughing, roughhousing, carrying on. Severus rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, but the next minute, to his complete surprise, Potter dropped into the empty seat next to him. Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew take Potter's other side, and Potter turns to Severus with a huge grin.

"Hey, Severus!"

Severus sighs, but Potter's smile is infectious, and slowly he returns it.

-x-x-x-

So! The long-awaited sequel to You're Welcome, Potter! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm going to turn this into a series of one-shots bringing the Marauders and Severus through all seven years at Hogwarts—and maybe some major HP plot points will change. Who knows… I may continue into Harry's years at Hogwarts. I have a few ideas, and I'm interested to work on a parental relationship between Harry and a Severus who actually has fond memories of James. Leave a review and tell me what you thought, and what you'd like to see in the future! I'm always up for new ideas.


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